Crenshaw Dairy Mart Fellowship for Abolition and the Advancement of the Creative Economy (CDM-FAACE) Presents the Three-Part Culminating Exhibition: Inglewood & Prototyping the Abolitionist Imagination RSVP for opening may be made here: https://essentialsbyautumnbreon.splashthat.com "Essentials" by Autumn Breon is a group of sculpture and video works that invites the audience to interact with relics from Esoterica. An extraterrestrial location, Esoterica is the next destination for ancestors when they leave Earth. This planet is powered by care and as a result, creativity is plentiful. Even though Esoterica is over three hundred light-years from Inglewood, Esotericans have activated many wormholes in the City of Champions (and throughout the planet). These shortcuts to liberation have been hidden in plain sight for centuries. Humans have misinterpreted these direct connections to Esoterica as quotidian places and objects. For example, the easily distracted homo sapien eye has seen beauty salons as places for gossip, hair upkeep, and beautification. Little did they know that hair braiders and edge layers were actually protecting Black women from delusions like “white supremacy.” In direct response to a recent distress signal from planet Earth, a glowing pink monolith from Esoterica appeared on Crenshaw Boulevard. This otherworldly curio has taken the form of a vending machine. The interactive piece invites the viewer to use familiar queues as opportunities to engage with the concept of care. Video diptychs of Black women adorning themselves incorporate both original and archival imagery. Borrowing from the design of double-paneled altarpieces, these diptychs magnify intimate moments of care into images that are larger than life. These videos frame a singular vending machine with objects that Black women requested in response to the following question: What items represent and provide care? The pink vending machine is fully stocked with condoms, tampons, pads, edge control, braiding hair, abortion pill resources, and science fiction novels written by Black women. All contents are free of charge. "Essentials" by Autumn Breon is on view through Friday, September 1, 2023. Appointments for viewing may be made here: https://calendly.com/crenshawdairymart/essentialsbyautumnbreon?month=2023-08